Beginning of the middle update

Those of you who know me pretty well know that my fiancé Patrick is a marine who is currently deployed in Iraq. This is our 3^rd deployment, and I’ve always said that getting through a deployment is a bit like running a marathon- it is an endurance event- not a sprint.

I’m glad that in just 3 short months, I’ll be able to say with some authority, whether or not a deployment is in fact like a marathon. I’m beginning to suspect that it may more closely resemble TRAINING for a marathon, and I’ll tell you why:

The toughest part of a deployment to me is the beginning of the middle- the part where the homecoming still seems ages away, and it already feels like the deployment has been going on forever.

I kind of feel that way about training right now. The first few weeks were new and exciting- each week I surprised myself with how far we ran. Then you get down into the thick of it when it turns into just plain hard work. Last Sunday I ran 9.5 miles, and it was a great accomplishment- I’m so proud of myself for knocking it out. I prefer to look at it like a 10k plus a 5k all in one morning. A 15k if you will.

But There are still 3 months and many miles left to go, and I must admit that this evening I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed by how many more runs I have to go before the big day. And I was tired and just didn’t feel like running. I had made up my mind that I was just going to skip tonight’s run and pick up tomorrow. Then I got an email from one of our coaches that said the following:

Finding it’s tough to get out the door for your midweek runs/walks? Very few of us are skilled enough at biochemistry to get in the lab to help find a cure. Does that mean we should throw our hands in the air and say its someone else’s problem, there’s nothing I can do about it? Absolutely not. TNT has already funded research that has directly saved lives, and that funding came from people just like you. Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) used to have less than a 20% survival rate. Drug companies had done some initial research on Gleevac but had decided not to pursue additional research. Then LLS came in and funded the additional research, and patients using Gleevac now have a 95% survival rate after 5 years. How’s that for everyday people like us making a difference? The lead researcher responsible for Gleevac wanted to show his appreciation to LLS, so he went and joined TNT, fundraised, and ran the 2003 Rock ‘n Roll Marathon himself. So when you’re faced with the temptation of a comfortable couch versus going for a run, remember that you’re a part of something much bigger, and getting those shoes on and getting out the door is part of a much bigger fight. And helping to win that fight is something to be immensely proud of.

That was enough of a kick in the butt to keep me going for the rest of the week. I’m running for something much bigger than myself, and what I’m doing is really important. I am running for my cousin Ashley, who just celebrated the one year anniversary of her diagnosis with ALL T-Cell Leukemia. She’s doing much better, and you can read her story at ashleywingo.com. Her fight, and the one that all cancer patients go through is tough, and I feel like a weenie for even thinking about sitting on the couch.

I am proud to report that our West Los Angeles team has raised over $88,000 to date. I am humbled and honored to report that I am currently the lead fundraiser for our team, with my donations totaling $4,450, thanks to the generosity of all the folks who have donated thus far. My goal is to exceed the $5,000 mark, which will make a huge difference in the fight against Leukemia and Lymphoma. If you’d like to make a donation in the fight against Leukemia, you can do so by visiting my fundraising page here: http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/nikesf08/apolk